Campfire Session — AI Writing Feedback

Discussion among teachers of writing about how AI can benefit the process, what guidelines need to be implemented in Flint to get AI to give helpful feedback, and the future of teaching writing alongside AI tools.

Lulu Gao, Head of Teacher Experience at Flint | LinkedIn

This session on using Flint to give students feedback on their writing is facilitated by Flint's Head of Teacher Experience, Lulu Gao. This session covered:

1. The student experience in Flint
2. Tips for how teachers could set up these activities
3. Shareout from teachers who have incorporated Flint into their essay assignment processes

Slides from the presentation can be found here.

Join our next Campfire Session 🏕️

Subscribe to our events calendar to be notified when upcoming Campfire Sessions and other Flint events get scheduled.

See Events Calendar

Introduction • 00:00

• The session focuses on AI writing feedback. Lulu Gao introduces the agenda.

Ice-breaking news • 02:26

• An interesting article about AI's role in teaching writing is discussed.
• Concerns about the definition of writing are raised. The nuances of writing and its implications in education are emphasized.
• The discussion highlights the role of AI in writing education. AI is seen as a valuable tool for students with learning disabilities.
• Concerns are raised about students' ability to evaluate AI-generated content. The analogy of walking a dog is used to illustrate the importance of guidance in using AI.
• The importance of maintaining the human element in writing is emphasized. A balance between technology and personal expression in writing is deemed essential.

Setting up an essay activity in Flint • 9:45

• Lulu shows an example of how to set up an activity for a narrative essay prompt. She uses Flint's activity builder chat to easily create an activity through a conversation with the AI.

The student experience with essays • 12:51

• Students receive feedback on their writing drafts. Specific suggestions include sensory details and emotional depth.
• Flint provides personalized feedback based on a rubric. A student receives a grade of four out of five with improvement suggestions.
• A question is raised about programming Flint. Specific classroom terminology can be incorporated into Flint's feedback.
• An example of a third-grade teacher is shared. The teacher compiled specific phrases for Flint to use in feedback.
• A question is asked about Google Docs integration. The current text editor does not support Google Docs, but text can be copied to paste into Google Docs.
• A question about teacher engagement in feedback is posed. The importance of immediate feedback is emphasized.
• A workaround for teacher feedback is suggested. The use of external tools for commenting on student work is discussed.

Flint in the writing process • 23:49

• The visibility of student thinking during the writing process is highlighted. A focus on creating activities that document student conversations with AI is noted.

Tips for activity set-up: AI guidelines • 25:42

• Specific guidelines for using Flint are emphasized. The importance of clarity in instructions is highlighted.
• Concerns about students using external AI tools are raised. The need for effective monitoring and solutions is acknowledged.
• Potential features for copy-paste detection in Flint are discussed. The challenges of implementing such features are noted.
• Different feedback methods for students are discussed. Guidelines for AI feedback are emphasized.
• An innovative approach to using AI in lessons is shared. Students are tasked with improving AI-generated essays.

Tips for activity set-up: AI rubrics • 37:06

• The importance of rubrics in Flint is highlighted. Customization of feedback through uploaded rubrics is explained.
• Feedback processes during student composition were discussed. The role of teachers in providing feedback was questioned.

Shareout from teachers • 39:07

• Mark Luff re-emphasizes the idea from Seth Bartley about having students identify weaknesses in a D+ paper generated by Flint.
• Evan Chastain described a student's journey of self-discovery. The student tried to get Flint to write for him but realized that Flint wasn't automatically putting out something perfect. Evan got to watch the student discover the joy of learning and how to prompt an AI to create a better response.
• Christa Forster shares her assignment process. A method for controlling student engagement is discussed. Students are encouraged to generate ideas before using AI tools. Then, students utilize Flint to refine their thesis statements. Group collaboration is emphasized after initial idea generation. The importance of retrieval in learning is highlighted. Students are expected to demonstrate their understanding in class despite using AI at home.
• A discussion on students' intrinsic motivation occurs. The desire to write great theses is emphasized.
• Collaboration between Krista Forster and Evan Chastain is highlighted. The importance of having a thought partner for engaging with AI is noted.
• Lulu Gao discusses the importance of partnering with schools. The goal is to foster community support among teachers using Flint.
• Access points for students through the use of Flint are pointed out by Evan. AI is highlighted as a supportive tool for learning.
• Mark expresses comfort with AI's potential. He acknowledges the positive insights shared by others.

Conclusion • 56:52

• Lulu Gao wraps up the session. Future sessions and resources are mentioned for participants.